A Working Relationship
by werewolf-at-weekends22
Summary: JL 7th year. When James apologizes to Lily, their relationship improves dramatically. But what happens when Voldemort comes onto the scene? Can they battle thorugh everything and stay together? Read and review!
1. Train Ride

Chapter 1 - Train ride  
  
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"I'll catch you guys later, I gotta go up the top compartment." Said James "Ok, see you in a few, Prongs" called Sirius.  
  
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"I'll see you later, ok? I've got to go up to the head boy/girl compartment" called Lily "Sure, later Lily" said Rachel, her best friend.  
  
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Lily walked into the head boy/girl compartment. It was very luxury, and she was just about to sit herself in the armchair opposite, when she saw someone already sitting there.  
  
"Potter" she groaned, "Get out now, this is only for the Head boy and girl"  
  
"Right as usual, Evans" replied James, with a charming smile.  
  
"Well, get lost, the head boy will be here soon."  
  
"Wrong that time Evans. He's already here."  
  
"What do mea----NO," she gasped as she realised what James had said.  
  
"Yes" said James simply  
  
"Please tell me you don't mean what I think you mean!" begged Lily  
  
"To your delight, Lily. I am Head Boy,"  
  
"What on earth is Dumbledore thinking putting YOU as head boy???"  
  
"Frankly Evans, God knows." Lily stood there, stunned. Him, James Potter, the least responsible person in the entire school, head boy? She sat down in silence.  
  
"It might be far easier for us to work as a team if we talk?" James suggested.  
  
"Go on, talk then" she sneered.  
  
"Well, I'm glad you said that because I do have something which I need to say to you"  
  
"Potter, if you're about to proclaim you're love for me again, I don't have the time."  
  
"Close, Evans, but it wasn't that. It was actually an apology." Lily gaped. An apology? From James Potter? It was unheard of. No one had ever heard James Potter apologise to anyone ever. She recovered though. "This should be good," she said sarcastically  
  
"It better be. I've been practising it since I got my letter." He stayed silent for a moment before saying. "Look, Evans, I know that pretty much right the way through the school, especially around you, I've been a twat. I know that I've acting like an idiot and I'm really sorry. I'm actually serious about being head boy and I think it would be beneficial for both of us if we at least tolerated each other." Lily stared. She couldn't believe it. He had actually admitted everything that she knew was wrong with him. She didn't know what to say. She was almost certain that she was the first person to ever receive an apology off James Potter. "Was that ok?" he asked  
  
"Yeah, you sounded genuine"  
  
"I was. But it was ok? I thought I rushed it."  
  
"No, no it was good." (A.N. Sorry, I like that line from Oceans Eleven)  
  
Then they both started smiling. "So how was your summer?" he asked  
  
"Not too great, to be honest. My sister is going on about me being a freak and my parents are arguing really badly. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you miserable."  
  
"No don't worry about it. Are you ok?" He had real concern in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine. Just sad I guess. What about your summer?" she said trying to change the subject.  
  
"Yeah it was pretty good. Went to the Quidditch and all that. And me and Sirius found a whole host of new pra---er, I mean, text books to help with our homework" he finished lamely. Lily started laughing. She had a wonderful laugh, thought James and he chuckled as well. Just then, the compartment door slid open, and Snape and Malfoy entered, with Crabbe and Goyle not far behind.  
  
"Well, well, well, who would have thought it? Potty and Mudblood as Head Boy and Girl" sneered Snape. Lily glared at him, but James spoke calmly;  
  
"Snivly, do you remember what happened at the feast at the end of last year?" Snape and Malfoy flushed at the memory, while Lily laughed. The marauders had slipped something into their food and some very odd things had happened. Their hair had grown longer, and changed colour, they had grown breasts and god knows what else and their voices had changed pitch, so they were so high it sounded as though they had just been castrated. They had raised such a commotion that everyone in the school had seen them and for 10 minutes they all laughed uncontrollably. The effects wore off after 25 minutes but the memories were lasting.  
  
"Apparently so", James continued, "well, over the summer Sirius and I have been developing the deluxe version, which lasts for a week. So unless you want a little surprise at the feats tonight, I suggest you get out. Now."  
  
"You're Head Boy, Potter, you wouldn't dare," challenged Malfoy.  
  
"You're forgetting, Malfoy, that when you're in a position to enforce rules, it's the easiest time to break them. And I don't suggest you use the word 'dare' in front of me. It might come back and bite you in the ass." They glared at each other and Snape, Malfoy and the others left the compartment quickly.  
  
"Sorry about that" James said still glaring at the door they had just gone out of.  
  
"No, thanks a lot, James." James looked at her and smiled  
  
"Any time, Lily." Then for another ¾ of an hour, they talked about various things, especially Quidditch, which James was delighted to find Lily was passionate about. Then Lily's best friend, Rachel entered the compartment.  
  
"Are you coming Lily? You said you'd be back soon and you've been here for more than an hour."  
  
"Really. Oh alright. I'm coming."  
  
"Are you off Lily?" James asked  
  
"Erm, yeah" she said hesitantly, not wanting to leave him alone in this compartment.  
  
"Ok, I'll call Sirius." He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a small mirror. "Honestly, Potter, checking your hair already?" sneered Rachel. James looked at her coldly and said into the mirror "Sirius Black". The two girls watched, amazed as they heard Sirius' voice come out of the mirror.  
  
"There you are, Prongs. I was thinking Evans had killed you. You've been ages."  
  
"Nice to see you too, Padfoot. Listen do you want to get Mooney and Wormtail and bring them up here."  
  
"Sure, what about Evans?"  
  
"Lily's going off with her friends."  
  
"So we're on first name terms are we? It's a huge improvement from her trying to rip your head off." James and Lily both smiled.  
  
"You coming then? Hurry up." James demanded, "Marauders out"  
  
"Marauders out" said Sirius and the mirror went blank. Lily gaped at the mirror, which James nonchalantly tossed into his trunk. Then, still trying to impress her, he spat out the gum he had been chewing. It soared in a perfect arc, landing in the bin on the other side of the compartment. He looked back at Lily, who still gaped at the place the mirror had been.  
  
"Where did you get that?" she blurted out.  
  
"Invented them ourselves, ages ago. Me and Sirius needed something to talk to each other when we were in separate detentions." He replied casually.  
  
"Do the others have them?"  
  
"No. Peter and Remus aren't in detention often enough."  
  
"Just one more thing, why do you call yourselves Mooney, Womtail, Padfoot and Prongs?" Lily asked. James smiled broadly.  
  
"If I told you that, Lily, it would cost me a lot more than my badge."  
  
"So its illegal" she said quickly  
  
"Of course not. You know me, Lily. I always go by the rules." They both laughed and Lily and Rachel both said good-bye to James and left the compartment, just as Sirius, Remus and Peter entered. Rachel smiled and blushed at Remus, who smiled back.  
  
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"Well, Lily you and Potter were certainly getting along well." Lily blushed a little and said;  
  
"Well, we apologised to me and then we started talking and he's actually a really nice guy, when he's not pranking people."  
  
"But his pranks are so funny" said Elizabeth, another friend.  
  
"Maybe, but he's funny without pranking people."  
  
"So let me get this straight." Said Emma, the last of the group of friends to speak,  
  
"You were in the most luxury compartment on the train."  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Alone, with the hottest guy in the school."  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Who you've now found out is really nice and funny."  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Who has only had eyes for you for the last three years."  
  
"Yeah" said Lilly, starting to get a little annoyed.  
  
"And you weren't snogging his brains out???" she finished, disbelievingly.  
  
"Honestly, is that the only thing you think about?" said Lily, looking for support from the other two. However;  
  
"She's got a point"  
  
"True"  
  
Lily didn't say anything. Whether she liked it or not, she was going to work the whole with James, and at the moment she did like it. If he was actually genuine then, maybe.? No, she told herself, just because you had a good conversation with him, it didn't mean you want to go out with him. She was already letting herself be charmed by him. Still, he was very kind, and funny, and sensitive, and brave when he defended her from the Slytherins, and very, very handsome.  
  
"What's the matter Lily? Regretting not snogging Potter?" Lily blushed again, and hastily changed the subject.  
  
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"Well Jamesie-boy, you were certainly very friendly with Evans." Said Sirius, grinning from ear-to-ear.  
  
"For a first real conversation in 6 years, I'd say that went exceptionally well." Said James, smiling slightly, "and never call me that" he added  
  
"Looks like our head boy and girl are going to be an effective working partnership this year" said Remus, innocently  
  
"Working very close together in many projects" Peter chipped in.  
  
"A well-oiled machine, if you know what I mean." Sirius added, smiling  
  
"Oh for fuck's sake, Padfoot." Exclaimed James, "that was just wrong"  
  
"Alright, alright, calm down. But you must admit, you two looked pretty close."  
  
"Guys, you're all getting way too ahead of yourselves. Lily's not like all the other girls. For another other girl, a smile from me can make their week. If this works out between me and Lily, first of all, it'll take time, and secondly, it'll last."  
  
"So, you haven't given up yet, Prongs?" asked Remus  
  
"Not by a long shot Mooney" said James, "not by a long shot." 


	2. Improving Relations

Chapter 2 - Improving Relations  
  
The train stopped in Hogsmeade station, and the four marauders got out and began to head towards the castle. James saw Lily on the platform and smiled at her. She waved and smiled back. Fortunately for James, Lily had looked away or she would have him having to be supported by Remus and Sirius because he knees had gone too weak. James protested, while the others sniggered;  
  
"It's not my fault, she's that fit. I bet it happens around her all the time."  
  
"If you're serious about her, you got to pull yourself together. If that's what a smile does to you, you'll probably die of a heart attack if she kisses you." Remus told him, "and then you'd find it very difficult to get into a relationship with her." He added, smiling.  
  
They made their way up to the castle in the carriages, and into the great hall. During the sorting James kept stealing glances at Lily. Wow, she's beautiful, he thought. Just then, a welcome diversion was caused, when a loud bang was heard from the Slytherin table. As everyone looked around, they saw two things. The first was Snape, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and several others in their crowd all drenched in the boiling hot soup which had just exploded. The great hall howled in laughter, but Lily threw an accusing glare at the Marauders. A few seconds later however, she and the rest of the hall gasped as they saw the reason for the explosion. A magnificent fireworks display had erupted from the soup cauldron. The hall 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed, as the fantastic fireworks zoomed all across the hall, occasionally dive-bombing the Slytherins to the delight of most of the hall. When the display finally ended, the hall applauded appreciatively. At the end of the feast, Dumbledore stood up and thanked the Marauders before giving the usual notices and sending them all to bed.  
  
James paused before entering his new head-boy's bedroom. Lily came up behind him. "James, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"Nothing, Lils. Just a bit weird to be going into my dorm without the others" he told her sadly. Lily took a second before replying. James Potter very rarely showed any negative emotion. She had been friends with him for about 5 hours and she was already seeing him in a completely new light.  
  
"I know what you mean. It is a bit odd isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, but at least I won't get woken up by Sirius dropping a bucket of water over me." Lily laughed. James continued; "See you tomorrow Lils"  
  
"Bye James - oh, and nice fireworks, but you still got Snape and his other Slytherins."  
  
"Well, some things are just unavoidable. Night"  
  
And with that James entered his room. Lily went into the door opposite. As James entered his luxury he began to think, inevitably, about Lily. He had always wanted her to go out with him, but that was just because she was beautiful. Now he wanted her to go out with him for so much more. His quickly drifted off to sleep. Lily, however, had far more trouble sleeping that night. She was thinking about James. She'd been thinking about him since she had left his compartment on the train. She was almost regretting leaving. She wasn't at all sure about her feelings, but she was sure about was that she loved the name 'Lils'.  
  
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The next day, Lily woke quite late and immediately headed to the bathroom, which the Head Boy and Girl shared. The door wasn't locked so she marched straight in and saw.James. Who had obviously just stepped out of the shower. She gaped. James' thick black hair was dripping wet. Her eyes instinctively travelled downward, past his face, over his broad shoulders and large biceps, down over his muscular chest to the abs that were chiselled into his stomach and she gazed, almost longingly, as the hair from his naval grew downward and underneath his towel. James cleared his throat.  
  
"Morning Lily, you ok?" said James pleasantly, as though they were in the great hall.  
  
"Y-y-yeah, I'm j-just g-great," said Lily absently, her eyes still fixed on his chest and stomach.  
  
"Glad to here it," said James with a charming smile, "now I don't mind you looking at me when I'm only wearing a towel, but I can't really go to breakfast like this so I'd like to put some clothes on." Lily seemed to come to her senses.  
  
"Oh right, I, um, sure, um, err."  
  
"So, could you let me out the room please?" Lily was blocking the door.  
  
"Oh right. Yeah sure." And she moved out the way quickly. James flashed her his lethal grin, and left. Lily shut the door and sank down on to the floor, her head in her hands. She'd never been so embarrassed in all her life. She cringed at the thought of her reaction to seeing James' body, and what a body it was, she couldn't help thinking. She couldn't believe what she had done. What would James think of her? Wait, why did that matter? It didn't matter what James thought of her, did it? Extremely confused and very embarrassed, she took a quick shower, and headed down to the common room.  
  
Lily was sitting with Rachel, Elizabeth and Emma, eating breakfast. Lily wasn't eating much. Rachel noticed.  
  
"Lily, what's up? You haven't said a word. You ok?" "Yeah, fine"  
  
"You sure," asked Liz, "you don't look it." Lily dropped her voice to a whisper.  
  
"Well, I was going for my shower this morning and um, James was kind of, um, already there." Liz and Emma burst into a fit of giggles. Rachel's face was expressionless.  
  
"And." asked Rachel. And Lily proceeded to tell them the whole story.  
  
"And I've never been so embarrassed in my life." Lily finished. Just then, the Marauders entered the hall. As usual, all heads in the hall turned towards them, and for a few seconds, there was silence in the hall. They walked up to the only free spaces at the Gryffindor table, which happened to be next the four girls.  
  
"Morning girls" said James. Lily couldn't look him in the face. The marauders carried on their own conversation until Sirius asked;  
  
"Jeez, James. You're unusually bright this morning. Why's that?"  
  
"Not sure Padfoot," James replied, "but there's nothing like an early morning shower to wake you up. Isn't that right Lils?" Lily blushed again, and the other girls giggled.  
  
"Yes, um, very refreshing." She mumbled back. The Marauders looked confused, but, to Lily's relief, James shook his head and the others didn't press. Lily soon finished her breakfast, but as she was leaving James called her;  
  
"Hey Lils, where are we patrolling tonight?"  
  
"I think Lily's hoping it'll be the broom-closet on the 4th floor," Emma muttered. Lily struggled to fight down her blush.  
  
"It's the corridor where that statue of Sir Gregory the Smarmy is. Nine o' clock." 


	3. Patrol Duty

Chapter 3 - Patrol Duty  
  
Lily arrived at their patrol station at 8.55, hoping that James wasn't going to be late. On exactly nine o' clock, James walked casually round the corner. "Evening Lils"  
  
"James, you're on time. I'm amazed."  
  
"Why's that? I'm always on time for important things like-  
  
"Lessons?"  
  
"No, no, Lils. Important things." Lily tried to look stern, but couldn't help laughing. They began their duty, but after 5 minutes they were both bored stiff. After about a ½ hour, James said  
  
"Tell you what Lils. The kitchens aren't far from here. How 'bout I go and get us some butterbeers? I'll be back in 5 minutes." Ordinarily, Lily would have said 'no', but she had a weakness for butterbeer so she agreed and James disappeared round the corner. Five minutes later, Lily heard footsteps coming towards her. She turned round, expecting to see James, but instead she saw four very unwelcoming faces, leering at her unpleasantly.  
  
"Well, well, well. Lily Evans" said Malfoy, clearly trying to be charming. He wasn't even in James' league.  
  
"No shit" she replied bluntly. Malfoy's smirk faded.  
  
"Quiet, bitch" he hissed. Snape, Crabbe and Goyle sniggered. They moved towards Lily backing her against the wall. Malfoy came up very close to her.  
  
"Now, now Lily. Don't struggle. You know you want me to kiss you."  
  
"Piss off twat." She spat back. Malfoy's face contorted. He held her arms tightly, stopping her from punching him. Meanwhile, Crabbe and Goyle held her ankles.  
  
"Listen, mudblood," Malfoy yelled into her face, "you know you want me. Don't fight it, or you'll get hurt." Lily watched, terrified, at Malfoy's pale, pointed face moved towards hers.  
  
Then, out of nowhere, a fist flashed past hers, hitting Malfoy in the jaw. She saw his jaw smashed across to the side of his face and back again. Then he crumpled onto the floor. Snape fell next, as his hooked nose became even more crooked than usual. Two stunning spells took care of Crabbe and Goyle. Then, all four were banished into a broom-cupboard, and the door locked.  
  
"James!" Lily exclaimed, as she flung herself into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder. James wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, and hugged her tightly.  
  
"Sshhh, It's okay, Lils. They're not going to hurt you. They're not going to touch you," he whispered soothingly. "I'm here now. You're safe." She felt it as well. Wrapped up in James' arms, she felt as if nothing could hurt her. They stayed this way for a few more minutes; before she let James pull her down to sit on the floor with him. They leaned back against the wall, and James put a protective arm around her. She snuggled against him, tears still streaming down her face. He wiped her tears away with his hand, and pulled her into another embrace. She stopped crying, but still stayed snuggled against James and he kept his arm around her.  
  
"Here, have a butterbeer," he said to her. She chuckled weakly, gladly took the bottle James offered and let her head rest on his shoulder. After about ten more minutes she heard movement from inside the broom-cupboard, and then some banging on the door. Lily stiffened, and instinctively grabbed James' arm. He already had his wand and she relaxed when she heard him mutter the silencing charm.  
  
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Later on, Lily suddenly remembered something. "James?"  
  
"Yes, Lils?"  
  
"You know how you're always going out at night-times.?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Where do you go?"  
  
"Hogsmeade,"  
  
"WHAT? How?"  
  
"Now that would be telling"  
  
"Come on"  
  
"No"  
  
"Please"  
  
"No"  
  
"Pleeeeease"  
  
"No"  
  
"Fine then," Lily pouted, "I'll just catch you when you're going out." James choked on his butterbeer.  
  
"You reckon?" he asked, disbelievingly  
  
"I'm sure" James looked at her shrewdly.  
  
"Care to make a bet on that?"  
  
"Um, sure"  
  
"Good," said James, "I'll give you a month. One month to catch the Marauders on a night-time stroll."  
  
"Alright. What do I get when I win?"  
  
"What do you want?" Lily thought for a second.  
  
"You can't prank Snape or any Slytherin for a month." James looked at her, amazed.  
  
"After what those bastards tried to do to you?" he exclaimed.  
  
"You've still got the month where I'm trying to catch you to prank him" she told him, raising an eyebrow suggestively. James grinned. Oh, we'll prank him. You can be sure of that, he thought. Lily continued "Anyway, what if you win? What do you want?" James thought for a moment. Then smirked.  
  
"I get the thing I was wanting for the last three years." Lily looked at him, confused.  
  
"A date with you" he told her. He saw the startled look on her face and quickly added  
  
"No trimmings. No hugs, no kisses, no nothing. Just dinner. I know a few places in Hogsmead. Come on" He grinned at her.  
  
"Alright then, I guess I owe you."  
  
Eventually, they finished their patrol. They went to bed, after reporting Malfoy and the others to Professor McGonagel. As Lily climbed into her bed that evening, she wondered whether going on a date with James would really be so bad. 


	4. The Date

Chapter 4 – The Date  
  
Over the following nights, Lily was determined to find the Marauders and win her bet. However, although she wouldn't admit it to James, she had absolutely no idea where they went or at what time. By the end of the first week, whenever James past Lily in the corridor, he would call to her "What's your favourite type of food?" or "What wine should we have with our meal?" Even after two weeks, Lily wasn't panicking. She knew the Marauders would get cocky soon and let their guard down. She was right. They were shocked to find that she was still in the common room, when they returned one night. Fortunately, she had been asleep. But by the end of the third week, Lily was devoting all her free time to finding the Marauders. When she passed James in the corridors, he would call "I've already booked that restaurant." Finally, at 3 a.m. on the last night, she admitted defeat. James walked into breakfast the next morning, with a broad grin on his face. He walked straight up to Lily and asked,  
  
"How's Friday night for you?" She sighed  
  
"Fine," James looked at her.  
  
"Come on Lils. We'll have a great time. Trust me,"  
  
"We'd better," she said mock-threateningly. James smirked back.  
  
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At 8 o' clock, on Friday evening, Lily and James left Gryffindor tower. James pulled out a large piece of parchment and turned to Lily. "There are two reasons why you didn't catch us, Lils. This is one of them," he said, proudly displaying the parchment. Lily looked at him, unimpressed. James took out his wand, tapped the parchment and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good". Lily watched, stunned, as the Marauders' Map spread out in front of her.  
  
"Come on" he said, and they progressed to the statue of the Humpback Witch. James opened the secret passage, and motioned for Lily to go through. She glared at him.  
  
"Just trust me, Lils," he begged. She still looked sceptical. So James slid down first, and eventually Lily followed.  
  
"Where are we?" she demanded. James smiled  
  
"You'll see," he told her, and taking her hand, he led her along the passage. She enjoyed the feel of her hand in his but after a while, they found themselves under the trapdoor. He led her out and she instantly recognised the Honeydukes cellar. "Remember I told you there were two reasons you didn't catch us?" James said. Lily nodded and he carried on, "well, here's the other." And he pulled out his invisibility cloak. Lily's eyes went wide as she saw the cloak, and she nearly screamed when James put it on and disappeared from her sight. James slipped the cloak over both of them, and they walked straight through Honeydukes, and out the front door onto the street outside.  
  
"Where did you find that passage?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"We explore," he told her with a smile, "come on, we should be there by now,"  
  
"What restaurant are we going to?"  
  
"It's just a pizza place." Lily smiled, she loved pizza, but there wasn't a pizza place in Hogsmeade. She said this to James, but he simply said  
  
"Correction. You don't know about the pizza place in Hogsmeade." He led her down a very long, dingy back street, which she had never been down before. She began to get a little frightened and she clutched James' hand.  
  
"Where are we going James?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Just trust me Lils," he said reassuringly, "you'll love it. I guarantee it." James found an unmarked white door and held it open for her. With some trepidation, she entered and was shocked to find a small, beautiful, elegant restaurant. There were only a handful of tables, and just one was taken. Then a voice with a heavy Italian accent called out fro the kitchen  
  
"James, James, is that you?" A small, fat man, with an enormous moustache emerged and James greeted him  
  
"Ciao Luigi. Come Stai?" (Hi Luigi. How are you?)  
  
"Benissimo, grazie James. E tu? (Great, thanks James. And you?)  
  
"Bene, anch'io." (Good as well)  
  
"Ah," said Luigi, looking at Lily, "Che bella ragazza!" (What a beautiful girl!)  
  
"Knock it off Luigi," said James, abruptly returning to English, "we're just friends."  
  
"Ah. Si." Despite the Italian accent, Lily could tell the heavy sarcasm in his voice. Luigi cooked his pizzas the muggle way, so Lily and James talked while they were being prepared. Lily was soon realising that there was a lot more to James than met the eye. He was extremely funny, as well as intelligent. He was sophisticated and always seemed to know exactly what to say. Lily felt herself relax instantly, as she told him about herself and her interests. They talked about their home lives in particular. James came from a wealthy pureblood wizarding family, whereas Lily was muggle-born. Of course, the food was excellent when it came and James paid for it all. As they left the restaurant, James turned to her  
  
"I know it's not exactly romantic but do you want to go to the Broomsticks and grab a butterbeer. You seem quite fond of it."  
  
Lily happily agreed. She was surprised to find that everyone knew James. She knew he was out every so often, but she didn't realise he was a regular here. When they left the Broomsticks it was past 11 o' clock so they headed back into Honeydukes, which didn't close till 11.30, and down the passage back to school. As they climbed out of the statue, Lily turned to go towards Gryffindor Tower, but James stopped her  
  
"Wait, Lils. Let me show you one more thing. It'll only take a few minutes." She agreed, wondering what else James could know that he wanted to show her. They went out into the grounds and down towards the forest. As they came close, Lily stopped  
  
"James, we aren't going into the forest are we?"  
  
"Only about 1 ft. Please Lils, you'll love it."  
  
They reached the edge of the forest, and James took out his wand. He pointed it at a tree and said "diffindo". The tree split down the centre, but instead of falling over, the two halves moved apart and door made of ivy, grew from the floor. James opened the door and led Lily inside. She gasped, as she found herself in a clearing, surrounded by trees, with a lake in the middle. James conjured a blanket on the bank of the lake and offered her a seat. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen, flowers grew all around the clearing and the moonlight shimmered down on the lake. They sat, mostly in silence appreciating the view, before deciding it was time to go indoors. Just outside her room, Lily said to him  
  
"That was great James. I had a really good time,"  
  
"Me too. I love that restaurant,"  
  
"I know. I'd like to go again sometime,"  
  
"Definitely. Goodnight Lils." He kissed her on the cheek, then seemed to realise what he had done, and went inside his bedroom quickly.  
  
"Goodnight James," she whispered. She lay in bed that night, with a thousand thoughts going through her mind. That was the best date she'd ever been on, and it wasn't a date. James was the nicest person she'd ever been out with, and they weren't going out. After a restless couple of hours, the cold reality hit her. She liked James Potter. 


	5. Aftermath

Chapter 5 - Aftermath  
  
Lily woke late the next day, but met Rachel, Liz and Emma at breakfast. She was very quiet and didn't eat much. Rachel immediately realised something was wrong. "Earth to Lily. What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing," she replied quickly.  
  
"Oh, I forgot to ask. How was your "date" with James?" asked Emma, grinning. Lily flushed.  
  
"It was wonderful," she began, as she described her date with James. By the end of her story, the other girls had wishful looks on their faces.  
  
"But I don't get it," said Rachel, "if your date was so great and James was so nice, then what's the problem this morning."  
  
"Its just that I was thinking about it afterwards. And, um, I think I like him," she muttered, so no one could overhear. The others looked shocked.  
  
"Wow," said Liz, "two months of friendship, and you already like him. He works fast doesn't he?"  
  
"But Lily," Rachel said, "why's that a problem?"  
  
"Because he's moved on" she said, dejectedly.  
  
"WHAT? Of course he hasn't. Why do you think that?" asked Rachel.  
  
"You didn't hear him when he made that bet. He said that he WAS wanting a date with me for the last three years. And besides, he hasn't asked me out at all this year. By this time last year, he'd asked about 100 times. And he doesn't even try and flirt with me anymore. Not even when we were out last night. And whenever we met someone he knew in the village, he told them we were just friends. Not even implying anything" she finished.  
  
"If he was over you, why would he ask for a date in the first place? Why did he kiss you on the cheek? Why did he go to all that trouble to make it such a great date? Why am I absolutely positive he's going to ask you to the Christmas Ball?" Relieved at the opportunity, Lily changed the subject.  
  
"There's a Christmas Ball?"  
  
"Dumbledore announced it just before you came in. Just watch the reaction the Marauders are going to get when they come in this morning." Right on cue, James, Sirius and Remus entered the hall, with Peter trotting a few metres behind. There was the usual lull in conversation, with even more girls than usual trying to catch their eyes. They sat down next to Lily and her friends, who received many jealous glares from other girls.  
  
"What's going on?" James asked jokingly, "I mean, I know we're sexy, but that was much more attention than we usually get." Lily laughed before answering  
  
"Christmas Ball,"  
  
"Really. When?" asked Sirius excitedly.  
  
"Christmas, perhaps?" James said. Remus and Peter sniggered. Sirius thought before a second then grinned sheepishly.  
  
"Who you taking then Prongs?" Sirius asked, "Sara Thompson?"  
  
"President of my fan club - Hufflepuff branch, I think not."  
  
"Gemma Anderson?"  
  
"President of my fan club - Ravenclaw branch, I think not."  
  
"Why not? She's hot," Sirius pointed out  
  
"True, but the conversation would be "Oh James, you're so wonderful, Oh James, you're so great. Let's get married."  
  
"Yeah, and you'd hate that," said Remus sarcastically.  
  
"Actually I would. If I want that all evening I'll put a Adoration Charm on a plank of wood and take that with me," Lily and Sirius both laughed, but Remus looked sceptical.  
  
"How 'bout you Moony? You going to be able to go?" asked James  
  
" Not sure yet. It'll be a close call. They haven't predicted it yet?" The Marauders all nodded and carried on with their breakfast, but the girls all looked at each other, confused.  
  
"What haven't who predicted yet, Remus," asked Rachel, almost desperately. Remus looked uneasy, but fortunately Sirius saved him  
  
"His parents are going on holiday but they're not sure when," Remus shot a grateful look at Sirius, who nodded. Only Lily saw this and she became even more confused. Just then Professor McGonnagel came up to them.  
  
"Professor Sinistra tells me it's the 21st December, Lupin," and without any kind of explanation, she went back to the staff table. (A/N. if you haven't guessed yet, they're talking about the full moon.). Again, the girls exchanged confused looks before settling down to breakfast.  
  
- James' bedroom: -  
  
"So Prongs, are you asking the lovely Lily again this year?" asked Sirius  
  
"Of course I am, Padfoot, what do you take me for?"  
  
"Well, at least you've got a slim hope of her saying yes this year," Remus said.  
  
"It's a lot better than I've had the last few years. It hurt a lot the last time I asked her." Sirius sniggered. Then asked  
  
"So when are you putting Rachel out of her misery and asking her, Moony? She almost had a heart-attack when you said you might miss it,"  
  
"I don't know if I will," Remus told him, "it's a big risk for me to get too involved with someone. What if they let slip about.you know?"  
  
"If she's the right one, she won't care," James said strongly, "we didn't," he glanced at Peter, "for the most part. And anyway, it set us up for the adventures every month."  
  
"I guess you're right," agreed Remus  
  
"Besides," Sirius added, "however much James would want it, just because you're going to the ball with her, it doesn't mean you're going out with her. What about you, Pete? Who you taking?" Peter blushed and looked down at his feet.  
  
"I won't probably," he said bitterly, "it's not like anyone would want to go with me. They'll just want to go with one of you."  
  
"That's bullshit Pete," Remus told him sternly, "there are plenty of birds who want you." Pete looked up, hopefully  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really," James said, but not quite meeting his eye, "and anyways, every girl in the castle would rather go with you than Sirius." All four of them laughed. James continued  
  
"Speaking of which. Who you taking, Padfoot? Is it possible for you to go to the ball with a girl you haven't dated and dumped?"  
  
"Of course it is."  
  
"Yes, but would it be legal for you to go out with any of these girls?" Remus asked.  
  
"Err-, how about Jessica Walsh in Ravenclaw?" he tried  
  
"Sirius, that was your longest ever relationship," Remus reminded him  
  
"Really? How long?"  
  
"Three weeks," Peter said  
  
"Oh well, I'll find someone. I always do. But the main question here is how and when Jimmy boy is going to ask Lily," Sirius stared hard at James.  
  
"She be getting asked pretty soon, so I'll make it tomorrow,"  
  
"Where? The secret lake?"  
  
"Oh god no. Maybe when I'm asking her to marry me," he said laughing, "no. I reckon it'll be just pulling her into an empty classroom and eventually getting the words out of my mouth in the wrong order,"  
  
"Tomorrow it is then. Good luck, Prongs. I think you'll need it."  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
By the time tomorrow came, seven girls had asked James to the ball and he hadn't even had breakfast yet. He met the Marauders at breakfast. He had been very hungry, but just then, he saw Lily walk into the hall and he lost his appetite. As she was walking over to the table, three boys from other tables walked up to her, had a very brief conversation, and then left, all three with extremely disappointed looks on their faces. Lily sat down opposite James.  
  
"What was that all about?" he asked, trying to be casual.  
  
"Oh they were asking me to go to the ball, but I said no to all of them."  
  
"How come?" James asked, "you saving yourself for someone in particular?" Lily looked at him, straight in his eyes. She held his gaze for a few seconds and smiled, before replying  
  
"Yeah, I think I am," James stayed cool on the surface, but inside his heart leapt. She certainly seemed to be implying something, and he hope that what he was thinking was true. She wanted him to ask her to the ball. He dwelled on his thoughts, poking unenthusiastically at his food. He and Lily had charms first so she waited for him to finish and they left together. As they were walking along the transfiguration corridor, James spotted an empty classroom. He had been intending to wait until the evening before asking her, but this was the perfect opportunity.  
  
"Lils, can I have a word?" he asked, nodding towards the classroom. She smiled and nodded and he led her inside. She turned to face him expectantly. Squinting down at her right ankle he started to mumble,  
  
"Err, Lily, um, Lils, I was, um, wondering, if, um, you wanted to, um, you know, go to the ball with me?" He didn't dare look at her face, but then she replied  
  
"Yes, James. I would love to go with you,"  
  
"I know, I know, I'm sorry, Lils" he began hastily, "I didn't think you'd want to, I- wait a minute," he looked up at her, "you said yes. You said yes?"  
  
"I said yes," she repeated, smiling at him. A huge grin spread across James' face, and he punched the air in delight.  
  
"YES!!! Oh yes! And Sirius said you were going to slap me in the face again like last year," Lily laughed.  
  
"We'd better get to class. We're late already. You sure take a hint fast." They walked together to charms, James' broad grin still plastered across his face. And it remained that way until lunchtime, when he caught up with Sirius. He took one glance at the look on James' face, and said  
  
"That can only mean one thing,"  
  
"She said yes. She said yes, Padfoot, she said yes,"  
  
"When did you ask her?"  
  
"Before charms,"  
  
"And you've been walking around all day with that cheesy grin on your face?" Remus asked, "say, where's Pete?"  
  
"Not sure actually," said Sirius, clearly only just noting this, "He should be here to hear about this historic day,"  
  
"Well, snap out of it James, we've got potions this afternoon." That wiped the smile off James' face, as he swore loudly. 


	6. Two Unexpected Invitations

Chapter 6 - Two Unexpected Invitations  
  
After lessons that day, Lily was walking back to Gryffindor tower. She was blissfully happy. She was going to the ball with James. It sounded extremely strange to say that. If someone last year had told her that she would go to the Christmas Ball with James Potter, she would have demanded they go to St. Mungo's hospital. She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't notice Peter appear at her shoulder, until he called her name,  
  
"Lily?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry Peter. I was just thinking about something,"  
  
"Lily, I was wondering something," he began nervously  
  
"Go on," she told him encouragingly  
  
"Err- d'you wanna goball wimme?"  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
"Do you, um, do you, um, want to go to the ball with me?" Lily was shocked. She had never had any Marauder other than James make any kind of move on her. She knew full well that it was on James' orders that they had never pranked her. She assumed that Peter was a better friend than that. After all, James would have probably said something about asking her to the ball to the other Marauders.  
  
"Oh Peter, I'm sorry. I can't. I'm already going with James,"  
  
"Oh right, yeah, um, sure, um, bye." And he sped off without looking back at her. Surprised, Lily went back to the tower.  
  
XXXXXXXXX  
  
Lily hadn't eaten that evening yet, but most other people had finished. She went towards the Great Hall, but didn't notice Malfoy, and a crowd of Slytherins follow her. As she walked along a corridor, fairly close to Gryffindor tower, Malfoy cornered her. "So Lily, looking forward to going to the ball with me?" he asked with a smirk  
  
"No, I'm looking forward to going with James," she said defiantly, emphasising James' name. Malfoy paled and hesitated but then grinned at her and said  
  
"No Lily, you filthy mudblood, you are coming with me an then afterwards, we can go back to your room and." He pressed her against the wall and whispered exactly what he wanted to do with her in her room. She tried to slap him, but he was holding her arms to tightly. So she screamed, praying that someone would hear her, but no one did.  
  
"No one's coming Lily. Don't try and fight it. You're with me, and you're never leaving," He took out his wand, "Imper-  
  
"Accio," cried a loud familiar voice. Lily felt herself being pulled of the floor, away from Malfoy, over the top of the watching Slytherins, straight into James' arms. After throwing a few hexes at the crowd, he took her hand and led her back to Gryffindor tower. He held her to him as she explained what had happened. By the end, James was fuming. She had seen him angry with the Slytherins before but never this angry. "Oh, they'll get theirs," she heard him mutter dangerously. Trying to lighten the mood she said with a smile  
  
"You're always there to save the day aren't you, James?" He chuckled weakly  
  
"Have you eaten yet. I was just going down to the hall,"  
  
"No," she said, "I was going there as well, but they've stopped serving now."  
  
"No problem, we'll go to the kitchens," Distracted slightly, Lily asked  
  
"You'll show me where the kitchens are?"  
  
"Lils, I'll show you where everything is," he said, grinning. He took her hand again, and they left the common room. Once outside, James began to loosen his grip, but Lily tightened hers. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and they went down to the kitchens together.  
  
XXXXXXXX  
  
"Potter, Evans, I need to see you both at the end of the lesson." It was a couple of days after Malfoy's "invitation" and both of them were in transfiguration. At the end of the lesson, they approached the front of the class.  
  
"Ah yes, now, as I'm sure you are aware, it is Hogwarts tradition, that the Head Boy and Girl open the dancing with their partners," Lily paled. She had never really danced before, except at muggle parties, and she didn't think that this would be similar. She looked at James, who looked utterly relaxed.  
  
"Now," continued Professor McGonnagel, "I will need to know who you are each taking to the ball,"  
  
"We're going together," said James. McGonnagel looked up, obviously surprised.  
  
"Really?" They both nodded  
  
"Well I never thought I'd see the day," she muttered, "so, Albus was right, again." They left the classroom and Lily looked up at James,  
  
"Can you dance?" He looked at her, surprised  
  
"Yeah, we get invited to a lot of these Balls at the ministry, so I got taught from a young age,"  
  
"Oh right," she said, coolly. James realised she thought he was being arrogant again, so he quickly added  
  
"But those things are really boring, not like this one. At the ministry, the next youngest person is about 50, but for some reason Mum and Dad won't let me and Sirius stay at home. I can't think why." She laughed and he sighed, relieved  
  
"Don't worry Lils, it's easy. If I can do it, you definitely can." Feeling slightly less nervous, Lily began to seriously look forward to the ball. 


	7. NightTime Wanderings and Confessions

Chapter 7 - Night time Wanderings and Confessions  
  
It was four days before the Christmas Ball. Lessons had finished a few days ago but most of the school, from fourth years upwards were staying at Hogwarts. Lily should have been ecstatic. After all, she was going to the ball with the guy she liked, and she needn't see her sister for at least a few months.  
  
But she wasn't. At least, not at the moment. She had seen James leave the common room a couple of hours before, but it was now 1 o' clock and he hadn't returned. She knew he had been out far later than this many times before, but she couldn't help but be anxious. James had a very annoying habit of doing this. Once or twice a month, he and the Marauders would disappear for the night, and then be asleep for the next day's lessons. Last year and before, she wouldn't have given a damn, but now things were different.  
  
She tried to go to sleep but couldn't. She got up to go and get a drink, but paused at the window. It was a wonderful night. The moon was full and the light reflected of the frost on the ground and of the lake. Then she saw something that made her mouth drop.  
  
It was a beautiful but enormous stag, and it galloped elegantly along the grounds towards the lake. But that wasn't all she saw. Close behind the stag was a wolf, a werewolf in fact. This shocked and confused Lily. Despite what people said, she knew that there were no werewolves living in the forest. But that meant it had to be one of the students! Dumbledore would surely never let a werewolf into Hogwarts. While she thought this through, she noticed something else. It was a huge, shaggy, black dog. It looked a lot like a Grim, but Lily didn't believe in those things, and had never taken Divination. She took out her telescope and looked through it, for a better view of the animals. She saw that there was a rat clinging on to the back of the dog, always looking like it was about to fall off.  
  
The werewolf had stopped and began to drink from the lake. The stag moved close to the dog, as if having a conversation with it. Unfortunately, the stag's back was turned and the werewolf took the opportunity to attack. Biting and scratching furiously, the wolf tore at the stag, but almost at once, the dog came to its help, and managed to push the werewolf away, and it became subdued, almost apologetic. During the fight between the dog and the werewolf, Lily noticed that the rat had either jumped or fallen off. She turned her attention back to the stag. It was obviously severely hurt. She could see the blood dripping off it's back and a few moments later, it had collapsed. Forgetting the werewolf completely, the dog bounded over to the stag, and began to nudge it gently with its nose. Throughout this, the werewolf stayed quiet. The dog began to whimper, still nudging the stag with its nose, and after a few more minutes, Lily saw the stag start moving and get back on its feet. After a quick "conversation" with the dog, the stag began to move up towards the castle. Moments later, she heard James enter his room, and she immediately went to see him. James looked a mess. His hair was even more untidy than usual. His robes were ripped, and he had a cut across his cheek. She went up to him and hugged him.  
  
"James, where were you? I was so worried. What happened to you?"  
  
"Calm down, Lils," he said, trying to flash a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace, "I just got into a spot of bother outside the Hog's Head. It's nothing to worry about,"  
  
"But-,"  
  
"Please, Lils. It's late; let's just get to sleep. Don't worry about me."  
  
He brushed past her and went into the bathroom. Lily went back to her bedroom, but as she looked down at her hands, she saw something on them and almost fainted.  
  
Blood. James' blood.  
  
She went to the bathroom, to confront James about it, but then she remembered the last time she had seen James in the bathroom and paused. Tentatively, she opened the door and peered inside. She flushed slightly as she saw James with no shirt on but he then turned his back on her and she put her hand over her mouth to stop herself gasping. There were many open wounds all the way down James' back, and further, obviously scratch and bite marks, by something with four-finger claws, and sharp teeth. James began to get undressed further, so she left and returned to her room, drifting into an uneasy sleep.  
  
XXXXXXXXX  
  
When Lily awoke the next day, her mind flew at once to James, and the incidents of last night. She immediately headed towards James' room to see if he was ok. She opened the door slowly, in case he was still asleep, but then the sound of her own name made her stop.  
  
"No way James. We can't tell Lily," she heard Sirius' voice saying  
  
"Look, it's only a matter of time before she guesses. She's the smartest girl in school. If we tell her, then we can persuade her to keep quiet about it at the same time," James said back.  
  
"That's if she doesn't run around the tower shouting because she's terrified of me," Remus said, bitterly.  
  
"That won't happen. Like I said, she's smart, and she'll know it's not your fault,"  
  
"Stop letting your personal feelings get in the way, James," Sirius almost shouted,  
  
"Sirius calm down. The final call stays with Remus. If he says so, we say nothing,"  
  
"Well, I'll think about it. I know she won't mind too much but it's just, what if she lets something slip?"  
  
"Come off it Remus," said James laughing, "if Padfoot can keep a secret about this for so long I think we can trust Lily,"  
  
"I don't know, Remus," came Peter's voice for the first time, "the fewer people know, the better, that's what you said. If we tell Lily, she'll probably tell her best mates, and they can't keep their mouths shut." Lily boiled with anger. Who was he to criticize her friends, when he had tried to steal one of his friends' girlfriends? Well, nearly girlfriend. James leapt to her defence,  
  
"That's bullshit, Pete. She wouldn't tell, not for all the gold in Gringotts'. I don't get you, Pete. In the last few weeks you've taken any opportunity to criticise Lily," Peter muttered something inaudible, but Sirius stepped in,  
  
"And you've taken any opportunity to defend her," James hesitated before recovering himself,  
  
"Well, it's your decision, Remus."  
  
Lily moved away from the door, her head spinning. What were they talking about? What did she have to do with it? She thought for a few minutes, several unlikely thoughts flashing through her mind. However, one idea did stick with her, and she took it down to breakfast.  
  
XXXXXXXXXX  
  
While she was eating breakfast, the Marauders came in, looking a lot quieter and more thoughtful than usual. After a few minutes in silence, Lily decided to break it,  
  
"I saw the most incredible thing last night, you know?"  
  
"Oh really?" said James, sounding apprehensive.  
  
"Yeah, I saw a stag, a wolf and a dog all running in the grounds. And they- ,"  
  
"And a rat," said Peter indignantly. The other Marauders all groaned.  
  
"How did you know?" Lily asked, but they saw the look of realisation on her face.  
  
"So, how do we get out of this?" James asked the others.  
  
"We explain," said Remus shortly. Sirius scowled  
  
"Remus," he said, warningly, "I don't know if that's a good idea. What if she-,"  
  
"She knows already, Sirius. Come on; let's use James' room.  
  
---James' room---  
  
There was a tense silence as the Marauders and Lily entered James' room. Remus spoke first, in a strong voice,  
  
"Well, Lily. We need to tell you this. As you've probably guessed already, I'm a werewolf,"  
  
Lily stayed silent. She had guessed that, but in a way, it still came as a shock. Remus continued  
  
"That's the reason I never fly at Hogwarts. When I was six, I was flying around in a clearing in a wood, when I fell off and my broom blew away. Well, I followed and I eventually found my broom, but when I turned round, I was face-to-face with a werewolf. Of course, I screamed, and then the wolf attacked."  
  
Remus lifted up his shirt, and she saw a set of jagged teeth marks stretching from his naval to the side of his stomach.  
  
"My dad came out and saved me before the wolf could kill me, but from then on, every month I became a complete monster. My parents had to lock me in the cellar until the moon waned. God, it was painful. There was no one else around so I bit and scratched myself, as well as smashing everything I could find."  
  
Remus paused. This was obviously very hard to talk about it, and he seemed to be reliving the pain he had been describing.  
  
"I gave up any hope of ever coming to Hogwarts, but then Dumbledore got in touch and told us I could still come and study here, if there were a few precautions. Like the Whomping Willow. There is a passage underneath that, which leads into the Shrieking Shack. That house has never been haunted, it was all me. Whenever 'my mother was ill', I was just in the Shrieking Shack, as a werewolf. I never left the school at all."  
  
Lily was in shock now and unable to say anything. I seemed so unlikely, but everything now made sense. Remus carried on with his story,  
  
"But by second year, these guys were getting suspicious. There were only so many members of family I could have on their deathbeds at one time. It was the lesson on Boggarts when they finally realised what was going on. Remember how scared I was when I saw mine? It was the moon, but fortunately, most people thought it was a crystal ball. But Sirius and James thought otherwise and checked the lunar chart. They saw that whenever I was away, it was a full moon. And when they asked me about it, I was terrified they would desert me. But they didn't. Sirius knew that a werewolf was only a danger to people, so he came up with an idea. The only good idea Sirius has ever thought of-,"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"He suggested that they become Animagi. It took three years, but eventually, they pulled it off and now, every month, they come out of the castle under James' cloak, and keep me company."  
  
"Mooney," said James, indicating Remus,  
  
"Wormtail," Peter transformed into the rat and back again quickly,  
  
"Padfoot," and Sirius disappeared to be replaced by the huge dog she had seen last night,  
  
"And Prongs," he finished, as he transformed into the beautiful stag, and back again. But she noticed that the cuts from the last night were still visible.  
  
"Well, I did suspect a lot, but I had no idea it was this deep. You're all amazing friends. And I swear that I won't tell anyone."  
  
"Thanks a lot Lily," said Remus. He left the room, followed by Remus and Peter. Lily went to James and hugged him tightly,  
  
"What's this for?" he asked, smiling,  
  
"You're absolutely amazing, you know James,"  
  
"No I'm not. Remus is. To have to live with that, but he never complains about it,"  
  
"It's still wonderful. What you're doing for him. I can't believe it. I saw what happened last night, with those scratches down your back," she said, tracing one with her finger. He grimaced  
  
"Sorry," she whispered, looking at him.  
  
They were still holding each other, standing close together. They looked into each other's eyes and slowly moved their mouths towards each other. They were inches away. Lily's eyes closed, waiting for the feel of his lips on hers..  
  
"James," from Peter's voice from the door he had just opened, "James, are you comi-, oh, right," he stopped mid-sentence. Even he knew what had just been about to happen. Lily and James quickly jumped apart. James threw a glare of pure evil, which made Peter shake, before replying  
  
"Yeah, I'm coming," and he left the room quickly, his face red, and his expression looked as though he had just lost a million galleons. Lily stayed in the room, tears brimming in her eyes, before finally leaving his room and going to find her friends. 


	8. The Christmas Ball

Chapter 8 - The Christmas Ball  
  
The next few days were very awkward for both Lily and James. They didn't speak about what nearly happened. In fact, they very rarely spoke at all. Whenever one saw the other, they would both replay the scene in their minds. Consequently, they avoided each other as much as possible. Lily even began to think twice about giving him the Christmas present she had bought him, a new watch, but in the end, she decided to leave it with the rest of his presents.  
  
Lily awoke on Christmas morning, finding the usual small pile of presents from her family. She sighed, disappointed, when she found that Petunia hadn't sent anything. Every year, Lily had sent something to her, hoping to change her sister's mind about the wizarding world, but the response was no different this year to any other year.  
  
The last present she found was a small package in blue paper. Even though the note wasn't signed, she knew instantly who it was from. The note simply read, "Merry Christmas, Lils". She opened the package, with mixed feelings. She found the most beautiful silver necklace she had ever seen. She recognised it as one she had spent hours gazing at in the window of the Hogsmeade jewellery shop.  
  
She went to the door of James' room and knocked. When he said she could, she entered, just as James was opening her present. He grinned when he saw what it was  
  
"Awesome, Lils. Thanks a lot. I really needed a new one,"  
  
"Well, it was a bit stupid to wear your old one during a Quidditch match. Thank you so much for the necklace. It's beautiful. But are you sure you want to give it to me? I mean, it must have cost a fortune,"  
  
"Lils, it doesn't matter about price. It's not like I'll go hungry for a month because of it. I'm positive I want to give it to you, because I lost the receipt and it'll look better on you than it would on me." Lily laughed and put it on.  
  
"Beautiful," said James, looking straight into her eyes, nowhere near the necklace. Lily blushed, but didn't look away. After a few seconds, James asked  
  
"Are we still fine for the ball this evening?" She knew he was referring, for the first time, to the incident a few days ago. But Lily knew what she wanted  
  
"I wouldn't miss it for the world,"  
  
"Fantastic," said James, "Meet you in the common room at 7.30?"  
  
XXXXXXXXX  
  
After the traditional Marauders' Christmas Day snowball fight in the afternoon, James went up to his room to try and get ready for the Ball. He needed to look good this evening. Partly because it was his last Ball and he was opening the dancing, but mostly because he had to impress Lily. He didn't usually take much time with his appearance. Instead he preferred to make himself look even messier than other people, like when he messed up his hair. But tonight was different. This was important, not like other dates he'd been on with girls. He spent a long time decided which of his many dress robes he should wear. Red? No, too loud. Silver? No, too feminine. Green? No, too Slytherin. Finally he reached his midnight blue robes, and decided on those. He took his time getting ready. Sirius had laughed at him for going up to get ready two hours before the start of the Ball. But even if Sirius arrived in pink robes, looking like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards, the girls would still fall for him. James, on the other hand, didn't have the girl he wanted eating out of his hand. At about 7.15, he went down to the common room. He was among the first to get there. They were mostly boys who were waiting nervously for their partners, straightened their robes or brushing their hair again. The 15 minutes he waited seemed like hours. Then again, he wasn't used to waiting, as he was usually late. Finally, at 7.30 exactly, Lily came down, and James' jaw dropped (AN. Cliché, I know.) She looked gorgeous. She was wearing beautiful silver robes, and had let her hair fall down over her shoulders, curling slightly at the bottom. In short, she looked angelic  
  
"Wow," was all James could say. A slight pink tinge appeared in Lily's cheeks  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment," she said, "You're looking pretty fine yourself, I must say."  
  
Now it was James' turn to blush. They made small talk for a few minutes, until they decided to go down to the Hall. As they walked through the corridors, the other people made way for them. Many hadn't heard that the two of them were going together, and had to look twice to make sure that they weren't seeing things. How was it possible that James Potter and Lily Evans wee going to the Ball together?  
They arrived at the Great Hall about five minutes early. They waited nervously, mostly in silence. Finally they entered the Hall, and Professor McGonagal called them forward. The band on the stage, which had been specially constructed for the evening, struck up a slow tune to start with. James offered his hand to Lily and she took it and walked with him to the dance floor. After an awkward, nervous start, they both began to relax. James led as they danced slowly in the centre of the dance floor. After about a minute, Lily let her hand fall on to his shoulder, and he brought her in closer to his body. The familiar feeling of security and comfort swept through Lily. Jealous glares flooded in at Lily, but she didn't notice them, as she gladly lost herself in James' arms. A strand of hair came lose from the rest and fell across her face. She moved her hand to tuck it back, but James got there first, and did the job for her. She looked up at him, surprised. But their eyes met and nothing else mattered anymore. He moved forward to her slightly. She tilted her mouth upwards, to tell him to continue and he moved his mouth towards hers. She pushed out her lips slightly, she closed her eyes, she could feel his breath on her face....  
  
"POTTER!!! Where the hell are you, Potter?"  
  
Snape's voice shrieked through the crowd. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and him, as well as a few other Slytherins, marched right onto the dance floor and right up to him. James and Lily moved apart.  
  
"Fucking hell, not again," she heard him mutter angrily.  
  
It would have been funny if she hadn't been so annoyed herself. The Slytherins were wearing nothing except pink thongs which left little to the imagination, although most of the crowd were laughing too hard to even open their eyes. Personally, James felt sure he would have nightmares about the scene for weeks. Malfoy saw Lily with James and managed, if possible, to become even angrier. Although Lily and James weren't kissing, they were still standing close together, and when the Slytherins had stormed onto the dance floor, James and put his arm around her protectively. He charged towards them, but before he had got within striking range of them, five stunning spells hit him straight in the chest. Looking round, James saw that the other spells had come from Sirius, Remus, Peter and Rachel, as well as the one he had fired. After Malfoy had been scraped off the floor and the other Slytherins had left, the Ball got back to some kind of normalcy.  
  
XXXXXX  
  
Later on in the evening, Lily and James had gone over to the drinks' table, soon joined by Remus and Rachel. As Remus and James got into conversation about the evening, Rachel lowered her voice and spoke to Lily  
  
"Wow, you close there, weren't you? During the first dance as well. Such a shame those stupid Slytherins had to interrupt. Shame Sirius decided to prank them in the first place,"  
  
"Tell me about it. That's twice I've been close. I'm starting to wonder if it's ever going to happen,"  
  
"Of course it will. It's obvious both of you want to."  
  
Rachel then left to go and dance with Remus. Lily and James decided to follow. However, dancing was fairly awkward. Both of them wanted to be close to the other, but at the same time were trying to get away. It stayed that way for the rest of the evening, until the final dance. Lily and James were pushed into the centre of the dance floor, and the other couples surrounded them. The band started to play a slow song, like the first one and they began to dance. It's now or never, thought James. He pulled her in slightly closer and when she didn't protest, he pulled her right into his chest, still without complaint from Lily. She felt her head rest gently against his strong chest and wondered what was going through his mind. She chanced a look up at him, to find he was gazing down at her. She blushed but didn't turn away. As their eyes met again, the same process as before occurred, both praying that there would be no interruption. His face was centimetres from her, then finally, after so much waiting, the two pairs of lips met. It was breath-taking. The wait for this had caused so much heartache for both of them but it was worth. It just seemed so natural to both of them. No one else in the Hall was dancing. Instead they were watching Lily and James, girls wishing they were Lily, guys wishing they were James. The kiss didn't last as long as either would've liked, but James had to know  
  
"Should I have done that?" he asked, his deep hazel eyes searching her.  
  
She knew what she wanted to say, but for some reason it didn't come out at all. With hope rapidly fading from James' face, she did the only thing that made sense. They seized the back of his head, and pulled him into another, longer, more passionate kiss. The Hall looked on in shock, but they followed Sirius' example and burst into applause. It was long after the song had finished when Lily and James broke away from their kiss  
  
"Lils, do you want to go out with me?" James asked, smiling, although he was obviously nervous  
  
"Yes, of course I will," Lily replied instantly.  
  
It took a very long time for them to say good night to each other that evening. 


	9. Imminent

Chapter 9 – Imminent  
  
The next few months were wonderful for both Lily and James. They had a fantastic relationship. Lily now deeply regretted saying 'no' to him all those times before. Lily also grew closer to the Marauders and found that she had also misjudged them. They actually had genuine reasons for their pranks and, more often than not, the person they were pranking deserved what they got.  
  
With Remus and Rachel also going out, Lily's friends all got to know the Marauders better. Within a month, Sirius had gone out with and dumped both Liz and Emma.  
  
Outside the castle however, things were less perfect. Voldemort's support was growing. Muggle tortures and wizards disappearing became far more common. The wizarding world was worried. Most days, people found the Dark Mark glowing on the front page of their Daily Prophet.  
  
Then one day in March, Voldemort left a message after an attack on Diagon Alley, where 32 people had died. "Hogwarts is next. Dumbledore beware." Panic set in among the students. Most refused to go anywhere without at least three other people, in case an army of Death Eaters ambushed them on their way to the bathroom. Teachers accompanied students to every lesson. No one, not even Dumbledore, seemed sure about what to do.  
  
Finally, about two weeks after Voldemort's message, Dumbledore called a meeting for the prefects from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Dumbledore wasted no time in informing the students of what was going on  
  
"It's coming soon. He's going to attack soon. I have a network of spies, many of whom have told me the same date. 13th April. I am telling you this because I am looking to you, especially Lily and James, to lead the school through this difficult time. I have not told the Slytherins this because I know that there are Death Eaters in the school, all in Slytherin house. This information must be kept among yourselves. Do not tell the students the date, simply inform them that the attack is coming soon and that they will have to prepare themselves." He looked particularly at the Gryffindors when he said all this  
  
"Professor, what are we going to do when the attack comes?" asked James. Dumbledore took a deep breath before replying  
  
"We are going to fight," he said, simply. The Hufflepuff students went pale The Ravenclaws looked scared as well. Even the Gryffindors looked a little shocked, except for James, who nodded grimly, and murmured, "good". The meeting ended soon afterwards. Lily was very quiet and progressed slowly back towards the tower, so James instantly knew something was wrong. He waited with her and pulled her gently behind a suit of armour. She sank down onto the floor. He moved down next to her a put his arm around her and quietly, she started sobbing  
  
"What is it? Is it the attack or something else?" he asked her  
  
"It's not supposed to be like this. We shouldn't be facing this while we're still in school. And what about my family? What if Voldemort comes after them? They can't protect themselves." And with that, she broke down again  
  
"It's okay, Lils," soothed James, "I know we shouldn't be seeing this when we're at school. But the fact is that we are. And we've just got to deal with it. Dumbledore said he'd put protection on all the families of muggle- born wizards. Voldemort's got no way of knowing who or where they are. It's unlikely they'll be hurt. And whatever happens, I'll always be there for you. You know that." Lily stopped crying and hugged James tightly. After a minute or two, he said  
  
"Come on, Lils. We've got to stay strong. Let's get back to the tower and tell the others."  
  
When they entered Gryffindor tower, it was almost silent. It usually was nowadays. There were hardly any parties like there used to be. Instead, people didn't dare raise their voice much above a whisper. Lily and James moved into the middle of the room. James conjured a stage and he and Lily stood above the crowd, who fell silent. Lily began to speak  
  
"We all know about the proposed attack on Hogwarts by Death Eaters. And unfortunately, we have to tell you all that the attack will happen fairly soon. We aren't sure when but w-w-hen it c-c-comes............," she tailed away, tears streaming down her face again. At this sight, the crowd's heads dropped. Seeing this, James took over, in a strong voice  
  
"When the attack comes, we are going to fight against it, with volunteers from fifth year and above." At these words, nearly every face in the crowd showed absolute fear. Some people started shouting, others started crying.  
  
"Quiet," demanded James, "we're all afraid. Of course we are. But that's the difference between a hero and a coward. The person who's afraid, but still fights anyway, is a hero. But someone who runs away from something because they're afraid – that is coward. I'm staying. I'm fighting. And if necessary, I'm dying to protect Hogwarts and everyone inside. Because I've never lost. I've never lost at Quidditch, I've never lost in an exam, I've never lost with women," he added, stealing a sly glance at Lily. In spite of the situation, the crowd laughed slightly, "and I don't intend to lose now. We're Gryffindors, for fuck's sake. We're the brave ones in the school. We're the best in the school. We've got to lead the school against those bastards. And I don't know about the rest of you. But I'm fighting." He looked around at them all, challenging anyone to look in the eye and say that they weren't fighting. Immediately, Sirius stepped out of the crowd  
  
"I'm fighting too," he said, loudly. Remus followed suit  
  
"Me too," he called, making his way through the crowd. Lily stood out from behind James  
  
"And me." Seeing her boyfriend and best friend standing up there, Rachel also joined the group of fighters. So, to most people's surprise, did Peter. Most of the Quidditch team followed James' example and went up to fight along side their captain. Pretty soon nearly everyone from fifth, sixth and seventh years had agreed to fight. There were even a few people from the lower years who wanted to join them as well. Before they all went to bed that evening, James made sure there was one thing everyone knew  
  
"Hogwarts will not fall."  
  
Everyone in the new "Hogwarts Army" was given advanced training on how to stun, immobilise, disarm and capture Death Eaters. There were about 100 in the army, roughly 60 from Gryffindor, 25 from Ravenclaw, 10 from Hufflepuff, and surprisingly, about 5 from Slytherin.  
  
Finally, on the 13th April, Dumbledore stood up at breakfast and said only two words  
  
"It's today." 


	10. The Battle

Chapter 10 – The Battle  
  
There were no classes that day. Instead, Dumbledore assembled the "Hogwarts Army" and gave them orders on what to do and where to go when the time came. The school was virtually silent all day. Most people spent the time with their closest friends or girlfriends, contemplating whether or not they would see tomorrow.  
  
The day dragged on and on, but nothing seemed to be happening outside. Then, as dusk approached, Professor Sanderson, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, came running up to Dumbledore  
  
"He's coming, he's arrived at Hogsmeade and he moving up towards the school. He's got about 130 supporters with him." And then he fainted. Dumbledore looked down at his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor sadly  
  
"Why on earth did I hire him?" he wondered aloud, before ordering the Army to follow him. They marched through the empty halls and out the main doors  
  
"How are they going to get in, Professor? I mean, won't the wards hold them?" asked Lily  
  
"They've got help from the inside," said Dumbledore, grimly, "Someone is waiting to open the gates for them. The wards won't work if someone invites them in."  
  
The army stood at the top of the stairs that led down into the grounds and waited. James turned to Lily  
  
"I may not get a chance to say this, Lily. But I had to tell you that I lo- ,"  
  
"There they are," cried a Hufflepuff fifth year, his voice jumping from one octave to another. Even though he was thoroughly pissed off, James turned his attention to the oncoming army. They were dressed entirely in black, and something about their presence made each of them look ten feet tall  
  
"James, I'm scared," mumble Lily, taking his hand. So was he, but he did his best to reassure her  
  
"Don't worry, Lils. I'll protect you. I promise." About one hundred metres away, the Death Eaters stopped. Then, Voldemort's high, cold voice boomed out from the crowd of his followers  
  
"Hand over the school and no-one gets hurt, Dumbledore. Save your precious muggles, old man." Dumbledore didn't even reply. Instead he yelled to the Hogwarts Army  
  
"ATTACK"  
  
They charged towards the Death Eaters, dodging the various dark curses thrown their way and throwing their own back. James easily blocked the stunning spell aimed at him, and it rebounded hitting the Death Eater who sent the spell. He threw a stunning spell of his own at another Death Eater, who was caught unawares and crumpled to the floor. About ten minutes later, James found himself near to Sirius. He beat the Death Eater he was fighting and laughed  
  
"That's four I've got already, Prongs," he yelled triumphantly  
  
"Well, tell me when you get twelve, no wait," he threw an Impediment Jinx, "tell me when you get thirteen." Sirius looked as though he'd been slapped in the face. Enraged, he conjured a huge fireball and sent it towards a large crowd of Death Eaters, who didn't move out the way in time.  
  
But as the battle wore on, the Death Eaters began to gain an advantage. Peter fell early when a stunning spell was deflected into him. Liz and Emma soon followed, with more and more Hogwarts' students suffering the same fate. However, they were no nearer to the castle than they had been at the start of the battle.  
  
James was still fighting his way furiously through the hordes of Death Eaters. He had taken out nearly as many as Dumbledore. As he attacked again, a familiar voice taunted him  
  
"Well, well, well. Isn't little Potter the hero of Hogwarts?" James recognised the voice from the regular functions he attended with his parents at the Ministry. He turned round and found himself face-to-face with Nefarius Malfoy, Lucius' father  
  
"Malfoy," James spat contemptuously, "Shall I stun you now and get it over with, or do you want to duel for a while before I win?" Malfoy laughed  
  
"I don't think you'll be doing anything. After all, I do have your precious girlfriend," he said, and two large Death Eaters brought out a struggling Lily. James' heart stopped. She almost got away from them, but one stamped hard on her ankle and James heard a sickening crack as it broke. Malfoy laughed  
  
"Now, I was going to kill her straight away, but I wanted to have some fun first. I thought, why should I kill her, when it would be far more entertaining to watch you kill he? Imperio." James didn't expect the spell so couldn't try and block it. But he felt the most wonderful feeling in the world, as if he had no problems, or nothing to worry about. Then a cold voice entered his mind  
  
"Kill her." Obediently, he pulled out his wand. But a new voice entered his head, much stronger than the first one  
  
"WHAT? Kill Lily? Never,"  
  
"Do it. Now!"  
  
"Never." And with that, the two voices left his mind and James returned to reality. He stunned Malfoy, then the two people who were holding Lily. He scrambled across to her  
  
"Lils, are you alright?" he asked frantically  
  
"Yes, James. I'm fine. Come on; let's get back to the battle,"  
  
"No way, Lils. You'll get yourself killed with that ankle. You won't be able to move fast enough,"  
  
"Of course I will. It won't make any difference." She winced as she got up, but she tried to hide it, and she progressed back to the main area of the battle. However, she moved extremely slowly. One Death Eater saw this. He took out his wand and pointed it at Lily  
  
"Avada Kedavra"  
  
Lily saw the jet of bright green light flying towards her. She didn't even have time to scream, but thoughts and feelings long forgotten flashed through her mind. But just before the light hit her, she felt a heavy body tackle her to the floor and the spell missed her by inches. She looked up to see James pull his wand out and stun the Death Eater who had sent the spell  
  
"Come on, Lils. Get back up to the castle. Please," he begged her  
  
"I don't want to leave you," she told him  
  
"You have to. You get yourself safe." They moved together up towards the castle, James ensuring that no one harmed Lily. When she was safe, James turned to go back to the battle, but Lily called him back  
  
"James, wait! Stay here, please." James shook his head determinedly  
  
"No way, Lils. There's still more to do,"  
  
"Stay with me, James. You've got to stay alive." James looked her straight in the eye "Lils, I'm coming back," he told her firmly, before charging back of to the battle. Lily watched him go, tears brimming in her eyes.  
  
With James' return to the battle, came a change in Hogwarts' fortunes. Dumbledore was taking out Death Eater after Death Eater, followed closely by the remaining Marauders. Rachel was hit with a disarming spell, which sent her flying 30 metres backwards, but Remus took swift revenge. It soon became clear that the Hogwarts army would win the battle, so Voldemort began to pull his Death Eaters back. However, James was right in the middle of most of the Death Eaters. Eventually, an impediment jinx from Voldemort himself stopped him in his tracks. He was carried by one Death Eater, and placed in front of Voldemort. The other Death Eaters formed a circle around them, but they were facing outwards in order to repel any attack. Voldemort turned to James, smiled his sick twisted smile  
  
"So, James Potter, we meet at last. You may not know it, but I know an awful lot about you. I know what subjects you take, I know who your friends and family are. Hell, I even know what position you play in Quidditch. I also happen to know that if it wasn't for you, Hogwarts would be mine right now." James grinned triumphantly. Voldemort saw this and continued  
  
"You have huge potential. You could be powerful. You could be great. You could have anything you want. All you have to do – is join me," he finished. James didn't even think about it  
  
"What the fuck do you take me for? I would never join you. Weak people like you turn to the Dark Side because they can't get what they want by normal means. Did you really think I would ever join you?" The smile was gone from Voldemort's face  
  
"No, I didn't. Perhaps you need a little persuasion. Crucio."  
  
XXXXX  
  
Outside the battle, up towards the castle, Lily was watching desperately. She had seen James being taken in to the circle by the Death Eaters and somehow restrained herself. But now, she heard James' screams echoing throughout the battlefield. She had never heard anything so terrible in all her life. Every painful scream was like a knife in her heart. But whatever she was feeling, she didn't how many times worse it was for James. She tried to run back onto the battlefield to help him, but was pulled back by her fellow students.  
  
Two other people on the battlefield heard James' screams and decided to try and help. Sirius and Remus broke through the crowds of people and flew at the circle of Death Eaters, firing every spell they knew. Sirius even tried an unsuccessful Avada Kedavra curse. Before they could reach the circle however, they were both blasted backwards by stunning spells from Death Eaters.  
  
Inspired by Remus and Sirius, Dumbledore and the remaining Hogwarts' Army tried to break through the line of Death Eaters and save James. They had almost reached them, when Voldemort took James and all the Death Eaters who weren't stunned, immobilised or captured, and disappeared from the Hogwarts' grounds. 


End file.
